


Nibbles

by The_Devils_Palace



Series: The Devil's Answer [2]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Animal Transformation, Gen, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-27 22:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30129717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Devils_Palace/pseuds/The_Devils_Palace
Summary: Gaunter O’Dimm only spent some of his time as a human, as the humble merchant of mirrors. The things about human bodies is that they were most noticeable and Gaunter O’Dimm preferred going unnoticed most of the time. He had many forms he liked to take, but his favourite had to be that of a dark grey tabby cat.What he doesn't expect is to end up as Vernon Roche's house cat, but it proves to be a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Relationships: Vernon Roche & Gaunter O'Dimm
Series: The Devil's Answer [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2177226
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Nibbles

**Author's Note:**

> This came about after a discussion about the cat Nibbles from the Witcher games. He is the one cat who does not run away from Geralt. So a bunch of us on the rare pair server hc that Nibbles is actually Gaunter. So, if any of you were wondering why Gaunter is so invested in Roche in Once Bitten... this is why. xD

Gaunter O’Dimm only spent some of his time as a human, as the humble merchant of mirrors. The things about human bodies is that they were most noticeable and Gaunter O’Dimm preferred going unnoticed most of the time. He had many forms he liked to take, but his favourite had to be that of a dark grey tabby cat. 

Cats are a very useful form to be able to take, there are many reasons why it was Gaunter’s favoured form to take. They are so ubiquitous that no one is surprised to see one, they are allowed freely in and out of most buildings and they are small enough to sneak around unnoticed. 

The other reason Gaunter liked being a cat was that it gave him an excellent opportunity to find worthy victims to use in his various schemes. Gaunter had found that the way a person treats a cat is an exceptional method for assessing their character. Cats are at their very core a lesson in consent, they are independent and their methods for exerting their boundaries are clear. A person who neither likes nor respects cats is a person that he could confidently say deserved an encounter with Master Mirror. 

It was during one such encounter that Gaunter first came into contact with Vernon Roche. Gaunter had purposefully set out that day to see if he could find someone worthy of playing a role in one of his more devious plans. He had found a man, a man who liked to kick cats, and in this case not just kick them. The man in question, a foul mouthed mercenary who likely hit his wife and yelled at his children, had him by his scruff and was about to throw him across the street to the jeering of some of his equally detestable friends, when the handle of a mace hit him squarely on the side of the head. The mercenary growled and turned to see who had rudely knocked together his two remaining brain cells. He was faced with none other than the Head of the Temerian Special Forces, Commander of the Blue Stripes, right hand to King Foltest of Temeria, Vernon Roche.

“Give the cat to me.” Roche said sternly. Gaunter could feel the man holding him tense, clearly trying to weigh up his chances against this man. Eventually, after the cogs in his brain had turned sufficiently he tossed Gaunter unceremoniously at Roche. Roche caught him and carefully tucked him against his chest, before kicking the mercenary full force in between his legs. The mercenary fell to the ground with a howl of pain and guffaws of laughter from his friends.

“If I catch you or any of your cronies laying a finger on a cat, dog or any other creature I will personally come and remove your insides through your asshole. Am I clear?” Roche barked over the noise. The mercenary gave the briefest of nods as he got up and limped away. 

Gaunter grinned to himself, or as much as a cat’s limited facial muscles would allow him anyway. This turn of events was certainly an interesting surprise. He didn’t know all that much about Vernon Roche, but after this performance he thought he would rather like to.

“I’m sorry about that asshole.” Roche murmured to what he thought was a cat in his arms. “Going to take you back to my place and check you over, if all is well and good you can get back to whatever cat business you were up to before that bastard interrupted you. How does that sound?” Gaunter purred in response.

They eventually arrived in Roche’s quarters near the Royal Palace. They were modest but well furnished, about what you would expect for a man of Vernon Roche’s standing. When they entered, Roche placed Gaunter care fully down on the floor. He proceeded to carefully check him over, disguising most of his inspection as petting. Once he was satisfied, he got up and sorted a saucer of water and a handful of chicken scraps. Gaunter ate the chicken and purred loudly. It was always nice to find a human that was courteous to animals.

While Gaunter ate, Roche stirred up a fire in the small fireplace. Gaunter looked around him, this was quite a comfy set up...and so close to the Palace. As good a place to base himself while he went about his exploits as any he had seen. After Gaunter had finished eating Roche went to the door and opened it for him. He clearly expected for Gaunter to leave. Gaunter pointedly looked at the door and then purposefully padded over to the fire and stretched himself out luxuriously in front of it.

“Oh, it’s like that is it?” Roche chuckled. “Well, you are welcome to stay as long as you like.” Gaunter’s ears flicked, the unsuspecting human did not know the deal he was setting...but Gaunter was not about to correct him.

-

Roche had always liked animals, ever since he was a child. Growing up a whoresone he had not had many friends. But, animals didn’t have the same judgements that humans often did. They didn’t care who his parents were or what his mother did for a living. They only cared if he treated them well. The brothel he grew up in had several guard dogs that he befriended. They were better playmates than most of the local children. His mother also fed the various street cats that lived in their neighbourhood. She was a woman cats just seemed to be drawn to. It was rare that there wasn’t some cat or other lounging in their rooms or sitting outside their door. 

Despite his love of animals Roche had never expected to have time for one. His work often involved travel and long hours. He certainly never imagined he would end up picking up a street cat and having it choose his house as its home, but here he was. The first time the elegant silver tabby stayed the night, Roche half expected for it to be gone in the morning and to never see it again. But, he awoke with it sprawled across his chest purring.

From then on the cat would come and go as he pleased, sometimes for extended periods, but he would always show back up again. Roche started to become very accustomed to his company. The longer the arrangement continued the more often the cat seemed to show up. It was like he had a sixth sense for when Roche would be in, to the point Roche began to expect the meow at the door within an hour of returning home. 

The cat was a strange creature, quite unlike any he had known growing up. He had large yellow eyes with an almost human seeming intelligence behind them. Roche found the cat had this kind of..knowing look. He knew it was probably his own wishful thinking but the cat seemed to understand and react to Roche’s words. Roche often found himself talking to him. At first just rambling about what he was feeding the cat or comments of how handsome he thought the cat looked that day. But, after a while he started telling him about his day, and after a while he started telling the cat his secrets. It was nice to have someone to talk to, and it was safe, who would the cat tell his secrets to?

His adoration of his new cat was not, however, always shared by those around him. The cat, who was always placid and friendly with Roche, had a tendency to nip at anyone else who dared to touch him. It was after one particularly vicious nip to Fenn, the Blue Stripe’s mildly unstable munitions expert, that Roche decided to affectionately name the cat Nibbles. 

Although most of the Blue Stripes had at some point voiced their dislike of Nibbles, the one with the strongest reaction was probably Sheridan. Nibbles had only been coming around for a few weeks at this point, he was laid out peacefully on Roche’s lap when Ves and Sheridan let themselves into Roche’s quarters. Roche shouted a greeting from where he was pinned under the heavy weight of not wanting to disturb a sleeping cat. As soon as Sheridan set eyes on the animal, his eyes widened and his vampire claws shot out. 

“What the ever living fuck are you doing with that...that thing on you’re lap?” Sheridan practically hissed.

“Calm the fuck down, Sheridan. It’s just a cat.” Roche said, frowning at the disproportional reaction. He had never seen Sheridan react like this with other cats.

“That is no cat.” Sheridan said in his thick Toussaint accent. “That is a demon.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Nibbles raised his head and stared intently at Sheridan. Sheridan’s face twisted through several expressions ranging from fear to rage. 

“The fuck is your problem Sherry?” asked Ves. “I will admit it is a demon among cats...but it is just a fucking cat.” Sheridan didn’t say anything else, he just simply stood there and stared daggers at the cat right up until they left to go to the tavern.

Another slightly strange reaction was from Geralt. They had stopped by Roche’s house to pick up supplies before a mission. Nibbles slunk in just before they were supposed to leave. He wound his way around Roche’s legs before sitting and staring calmly up at the Witcher. Geralt stared back down at the cat with an odd look on his face.

“Oh, not you too...it’s just a cat.” Roche grumbled.

“It’s just strange. They normally run away from me.” Geralt said thoughtfully.

“Huh.” Roche replied. He watched as Nibbles stood and stretched luxuriously before rubbing himself against the Witcher’s legs before leaping up onto the armchair close to the fireplace.

“It sounds odd...but I feel like I have seen that cat before somewhere.” Geralt said. Roche shrugged, although the silver tabby was handsome he wasn’t a particularly unusual looking animal.

“Plenty of cats like him in the world, Geralt.” Roche said dismissively. 

“Hmmm”

“Right, I’ve got everything. Let’s go.” Roche said, giving Nibbles a goodbye chin scritch before heading for the door.

Roche never expected to share his home with a cat, but he found himself progressively more and more grateful that Nibbles had chosen his house as a regular haunt.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I love getting your comments ^^ I have started work on the next peace for this series and I am very excited.


End file.
